Closure



Jan. 21, 1936. w BAKE 2,028,490

CLOSURE Filed Sept. 29, 1953 y HI 5 I fill III I 11 I II 5 L Y W/W/am Baker .4 TTURNE-V Patented Jan. 21, 1936 "UNITED STATES PATENT orr ce CLOSURE William Baker, Toledo, Ohio 7 Application September 29, 1933, Serial No. 691,429

8 Claims.

This invention'relates to closures for containers and: particularly to closures for bottles provided with means for indicating whether or not such closures have'been opened for *the removal of-the contents.

The principal object of the invention is the provision ofa'fitting having an inaccessible lock to prevent. the removal'of the fitting from a bottle neck.

10 Another .object is thezprovision of a fitting and bottle neck with a ratchet and pawl lock to prevent removal of theifitting :from the bottleneck.

Another object is the provision of a" fitting adapted to be screwed onto a bottle neck, the

bottle neck and fitting being provided with a ratchetand pawl deviceto prevent the fitting from being unscrewed from the bottle neck.

And still another object is the provision of a fitting having a nonreplaceable diaphragm which may be broken, in combination with a bottle neck upon which 'the'fitting is adapted to be screwed, and :a ratchet andpawl lock toprevent the fitting from being unscrewed from the bottle neck.

Other objectsand advantages will be apparent from the following description, in which reference is had to the accompanying drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment of my invention and whereinsimilar reference numerals designate similarparts throughout the several views.

In the drawing:

:Figure -I:is'a front Ielevational-view, with parts broken away and parts in section, of a bottle equipped with apreferredformof theclosure of my invention.

Figure II is a sectional plan View of the fitting andneck of the bottle taken-substantially on the line II-II-of Figure I. V

.Figure III is a vertical :sectional view :taken substantially-on the line III-III of Figure II.

' 40 Referring to the drawing in detail, I have shown :my-closure=applied to a bottle or flask I, which t-may be 'of :any desired shape and material. {Ihe-necki oithe bottleis provided with acollar 3ehaving a shoulderonits upper side and with a spiralseries of protuberances' i shaped as ances 4 and the groove 6 maybe such as to form either a left-hand or a right-hand thread. A right-hand thread is shown in the drawing.

The fitting 5 may be made of metal, porcelain or glass, but it is preferably made of urea-formaldehyde-resin or other plastic moldingmaterial, It is provided with a vertical socket l,-opening f rom its lower end, 'and'lying within the socket I .is a cylindrical portion 8 of a resilientpawlS; the size of the cylindrical portion being such'that itsfits tightly within the socket-and engages'the-interior socketwith expansive force, .thus being reliably retained in place after-assembly. Iprefento assemble the pawl 9 .withthemember 5 bypushing it into :the socket after the member -5 has been made, but-if desired, the ,pawl 9 maybe molded into the member 5 when the member 5 is made. Whenthe fittingis screwed upon the bottleneck the resilient pawl 9 slides-over the helical series of ratchet-like .protuberances l, but if an .attempt bemadetounscrew the fitting,.the tip of thepawl 9 catches on one of the .protuberancesandrprevents the fitting from :being unscrewed. The relative strengths of the fitting and pawl are such that if. .force .be appliedto the fittingin -an attempt :to ,unscrew it the fitting will the .-destroyed before the pawlcan be forcedoverithe ratchet teeth. Access to thepawl is prevented by the shouldered collar .3. A gasket or liner 10.,is interposed betweenthe top. of thebottle neck and an internal shoulder on the annular .me'mberfi to prevent leakage between the bottle neckand the annular member, the-thickness andresilience of the liner ll! being such that leakageis .prevented while the fitting .5 is more or less-tightly screwed into place; hence, the fitting, after being tightlyscreweddown, may be turned back until ithepawl 9 engages-the approximate pro tuberance 4, without loosening thegasket .0 sulficiently to prevent leakage around it, 1

Molded across theopening in theannularmemher 5 and lyingsomewhat below itsupperend is an integral diaphragm or seal l. A circular grooveis molded-into the sealer-diaphragm adjacent its edge to :provide an easily breakable juncture,--so:that thediaphragm may;be-:punched out with :the .finger. or any elongated instrument, such as a pencil or key, which is'small enough to be pushed into the opening. The upper portion of the member 5 is threaded as at l2 and screwed upon the threaded upper portion is an internally threaded cap 13 provided with a liner or gasket M to prevent leakage between the member 5 and the cap I3.

Preferably, the cap I3 is assembled on the member 5 before the fitting is screwed upon the filled container. When it is desired to open the closure the cap I3 is unscrewed and the diaphragm ll punched out. After opening, the cap l3 may be replaced to retain and preserve the contents of the bottle, but the'broken diaphragm will remain evidence that the closure has been opened.

The embodiment of my invention herein shown and described is to be regarded as illustrative only, and it is to be understood that the invention is susceptible to variation, modification and change within the spirit and scope of the subjoined claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, in combination, a container element, a fitting element, an inaccessible lock to prevent removal of said fitting element from said container element, an easily broken nonreplaceable diaphragm extending across an opening in said fitting element to prevent passage of the contents of said container element, and a removable and replaceable closure adapted for leak-proof application to said fitting element.

2. In a device of the class described, in combination, a container element, a fitting element, an inaccessible lock to prevent removal of said fitting element from said container element, said lock including a pawl on one of said elements engageable with a protuberance on the other of said, elements, an easily broken nonreplaceable diaphragm extending across an opening in said fitting element to prevent passage of the contents of said container element, and a removable and replaceable closure adapted for leak-proof application to said fitting element.

3. In a device of the class described, in combination, a container element, a fitting element, one of said elements having a series of ratchetlike protuberances, the other element having a pawl engageable with said protuberances to prevent removal of said fitting element from said container element, an easily broken nonreplaceable diaphragm extending across an opening in said fitting element to prevent passage of the contents of said container element, and a removable and replaceable closure adapted for leak-proof application to said fitting element.

4. In a device of the class described, in combination, a container having a neck provided with a helical series of ratchet-like protuberances, a fitting for said neck having a helical groove adapted to receive said protuberances and permit said fitting to be screwed on said neck, a pawl carried by said fitting and adapted to engage one of said protuberances to prevent said fitting from being unscrewed from said neck, a frangible nonreplaceable diaphragm extending across an opening in said fitting to prevent passage of the contents of said container, and a removable closure adapted for leak-proof application to said fitting.

5. In a device of the class described, in combination, a container having a neck provided with a helical series of ratchet-like protuberances, a fitting for said neck having a helical groove opening in said fitting to prevent passage of the contents of said container, and a removable 010- sure adapted for leak-proof application to said fitting.

6. In a device of the class described, in com-' bination, a container having a neck provided with a helical series of ratchet-like protuberances, a fitting for said neck having a helical groove adapted to receive said protuberances and permit said fitting to be screwed on said neck, a pawl carried by said fitting and adapted to engage one of said protuberances to prevent said fitting from being unscrewed from said neck, a shoulder on said neck to prevent access to said pawl, a frangible nonreplaceable diaphragm extending across an opening in said fitting to prevent passage of the contents of said container, and a removable closure adapted for leak-proof application to said fitting.

'7. In a device of the class described, in combination, a container element, a fitting element of molded plastic material, a helical series of ratchet-like protuberances on one of said elements, the other of said elements having a helical groove and a pawl, said pawl being adapted and arranged to override said protuberances when moved in one direction and to be stopped by one of said protuberances when moved in the other direction, a frangible nonreplaceable diaphragm extending across an opening in said fitting element to prevent passage of the contents of said container element, the relative strengths of the fitting element and lock being such that force applied to said look through said fitting element will break said fitting element before eifecting the release of said lock, and a removable and replaceable closure adapted for leak-proof application to said fitting.

8. In a device of the class described, in combination, a container having a neck provided with a helical series of ratchet-like protuberances, a fitting of molded plastic material for said neck having a helical groove adapted to receive said protuberances and permit said fitting to be screwed on said neck, a pawl carried by said fitting and adapted to engage one of said protuberances to prevent said fitting from being unscrewed from said neck, means on said neck to prevent access to said pawl, a frangible nonreplaceable diaphragm extending across an opening in said fitting to prevent passage of the con j tents of said container, the relative strengths of said fitting, said pawl and said protuberances being such that force applied to unscrew said fit ting will break said fitting before effecting re? lease of said pawl from one of said protuberances, and a removable and replaceable closure adapted for leak-proof application to said fitting.

WILLIAM BAKER. 

